The elf swatted a branch out of the way as the trudged down the dirt road. No horse, no companion, no nothing. Only herself. She approached a run down looking town. Shabby wood buildings, sloppy dirt and mud roads... Pathetic. Then again, what was to be expected from these pitiful humans. Humans had no standards compared to her kind. The elves would compare this icky, depressed village to orc architecture!
Of course, orcs were why she was here.
When she passed some town authorities, they motioned for her to pull down her hood. Rolling her eyes, she pulled it down with an unamused scowl. Calm your chariots, fools. I'm not here to hurt you. And even if I was, it's not like your deaths would have an impact. All humans die anyways...
Turning a corner where a couple was fighting over a turned over wagon, the elf approached a table where a fat looking man downed some ale. The elf raised an eyebrow. That stuff smelled strong, but was it any good? A desire for alcohol called to her, but she pushed it aside. She needed to be sober for this job. A real shame, she loved being drunk. She raised a hand and slammed it onto the table, "Hey! Middle Man, you're not too wasted to talk, are you?"
The man looked up from his ale, belched, and reached up to wipe his mouth. "Mmm, unfortunately. Yes. Whadya want?"
She sighed and pulled a poster from her cloak pocket, "This says that there's a bounty for some orcs in a ravine. Put my name on it, I'll be back with their heads in a bag."
The man pulled a paper up and scribbled down on it, "Err, whatsyer name?"
The elf adjusted her travel pack as she answered, "Aurthiel."
~~~
The leaves of the bushes slithered and curled around Aurthiel's frame as she crept through the bushes and ferns. She had the location; it was a mile from the town. She pulled her bow from her back as she saw a drop up ahead. The ravine. With a smirk on her face, she lowered herself to the ground and crawled to the edge. Only one or two pebbles slipped from beneath her as she peaked over the edge and looked down upon the orc camp. Her victims' camp. A smile of glee crossed her face and she notched an arrow from the quiver at her hip. She pulled the string back as she remained in shadow. She was a shadow. She let loose the arrow and it flew into the neck of her first target. It crumpled dead. In ancient orc tongue, the feral orcs of the Misty Mountains cried out and ran around in confusion. Oh, the poor yet not innocent fools. Aurthiel would cut down every one tonight. Under the clouded sky, she shot arrow after arrow, taking an orc down every time. Wargs slunk, close to the ground, trying to find the scent of the attacker. As she could tell they caught a whiff of her elven scent, Aurthiel's smile grew. Anticipation caused her to pull her bow back. Enough hiding. She needed war. She needed blood. She needed the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She needed to feel alive.
She stood up, unhidden, and leapt down the cliff. She skidded down, easily dodging the crude arrows and javelins the remaining orcs tossed. She drew her arming sword, Angcrist, and cried out in Sindarin. The glory of the Noldor would be felt by these futile corruptions of Morgoth. She grinned a crooked smile. Her heart pounded. As she cut through each and every orc like butter, she laughed.
She was alive.
~~~
A large bag of orc heads and warg teeth were unceremoniously plopped onto the table, causing the now even drunker man to startle and fall off his chair. Aurthiel placed her fingers on her temple, sighing. "Just give me my reward so I can get out of here."
Behind the drunkard, a younger man was studying the papers and observing the heads. He looked up, nodded, and turned to grab the reward money. As he handed her the coin, the young man smiled, "Thank you, kind elf! Your heroic deeds have saved my town, and especially my daughter!"
Aurthiel was transported somewhere else.
A bittersweet memory rolled in her mind. She was hidden inside the long abandoned caverns of a Firebeard colony in Ered Luin. Fires roared in grand forges and fireplaces to supply heat for her. As a fellow elf lady tidied things up after Aurthiel had given birth, the sweating and panting Noldor held a newborn child in her shaking arms. Immeasurable joy and agonizing sorrow gripped her at the same time as she shed tears. "My… My daughter…"
Her only companion here bent down from her duties as midwife, placing her hand on her shoulder, "She is beautiful, my friend…"
The lingering sadness despite all joy took over as they fell into silence, observing the sleeping baby.
Aurthiel blinked, returning to the blurred present. She shook her head, forcing a scowl on her face. No. No! She would not feel a thing for these mortals! Not even sympathy. She had made this mistake before. She still felt bitter sadness over the Edain she loved in the First Age, and the Longbeards of Moria in the Second Age. No more. Not in the slightest. She had vowed, never again would be become remotely attached to a human, or dwarf, or hobbit… Not anymore. She was a stone to these dying kinds. They meant nothing to her.
She pulled the coin from the man's hand, rather forcefully, and turned around pointedly. "What was that? Kind? Heroic?" She scoffed, "I don't care about any of that, or your shabby little town, or your stupid daughter." She turned back to the shocked man with a cold smirk, "I only kill orcs for the thrill of it. Might as well get a money reward for my next beer while I'm at it too, hmm?"
Without waiting for his reaction, she walked away. She shoved the reward into her money sack and pulled her hood over her face. Dhe continued to smirk as she completely left the town behind, onto the next thing. The bitter immortal continued her eternal quest for meager enjoyment and minor fun. It was all she had, as even her family in Lindon did not fully accept her…
